


Nothing would be what it is, because everything will be what it wasn't

by Queen_of_Thorns88



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, pretty much trying to atone for my last fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26595076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_of_Thorns88/pseuds/Queen_of_Thorns88
Summary: Role reversal fic where Arya is the daughter of Lyanna and Rhaegar and Jon the trueborn son of Ned and Catelyn
Relationships: Jon Snow/Arya Stark
Comments: 12
Kudos: 109
Collections: Jonrya Week: Sweet and Spicy Summer





	Nothing would be what it is, because everything will be what it wasn't

Catelyn knows that she should be pleased that the bastard is a girl because she will never threaten her son’s birthright of Winterfell but when Sansa is born and she too has her Tully coloring she feels like a failure that she hasn’t produced a child with the Stark look. The only thing that consoles her is that Sansa is bound to be a great beauty and surely now that Ned has a trueborn daughter, he will stop doting on the bastard. Unfortunately her hopes are swiftly crushed. While her Lord husband loves their daughter he never looks at her with the same longing look as when he looks at the girl.

Her prayers are answered when she delivers her Jon. She can barely contain her triumphant feeling in knowing she has a son with his father’s look. Now the bastard is not the only one. Surely the gods mock her because her greatest victory turns into her greatest frustration. From the moment Jon could understand the world around him, he has been incredibly attached to the girl. Everywhere she goes he follows like a pup, his first word was her name, his first smile for her and all his secrets and desire are hers to keep.

When the royal court visits Winterfell she secretly rejoices. Bastards are known to be wanton, born from lust and weakness, and she hopes the girl takes off with a knight or squire and leaves her life for good. Alas the girl is only interested in watching the men train and talk about it with Jon and Benjen. To add insult to injury the King takes one look at her and starts raving about her being Lyanna reborn and of her great Northern beauty. Not a word about Sansa is being uttered. He goes as far as to claim that if she were trueborn he would betroth her to his heir. It makes her daughter’s betrothal feel like a consolation prize.

The King’s obsession with the girl makes Ned overprotective of the girl; she is always in trusted company and when Robert Baratheon asks if she will accompany her natural sister in King’s Landing as a handmaiden, her husband makes swift plans to send her to Greywater Watch. Just as well, one way or another Catelyn will not have to see her again. As always when Ned’s natural daughter is involved, her victories turn to ashes because as soon as Jon hears the news, he convinces his father to let him leave Winterfell as well. He says that he wishes to learn the ways of the Braavosi sword fighting and while Catelyn knows her son is a gifted fighter, she knows the reason for his request. He doesn’t want to be in Winterfell without _her_ here, not even to be with his mother. She has patiently waited for years to form a stronger bond with her son and the girl stole him from her yet again. Ashara’s spirit must be laughing at her misfortune from the beyond.

…………….

Greywater Watch was everything Arya dreamed of and more. She makes quick friends with Jojen and Meera as soon as she is introduced to them. She is surprised to be treated like a trueborn Stark but what is more unsettling is the love she’s being shown by Lady Jyana. The lady treats her like a daughter and when she learns she’s interested in knowing how to fight, instead of reprimanding her, she has the crannogmen show her their way.

News about the accusations against father and Robb’s call of his banners reach the Neck. Jojen and Lord Howland spend two days in deep conversation and when they emerge the air is thick with the feeling that something important is about to happen. Lord Howland sends his children to Winterfell and Lady Jyana weeps like she will never see her son again when she hugs him goodbye.

The same night she is summoned to their rooms and her world is never the same again. Lord Howland tells her of the great tourney of Harrenhall, how three squires thought of attacking him and how the daughter of his liege Lord came to his rescue and later entered the joust as a mystery knight to avenge him. He tells her that Rhaegar Targaryen played his harp at the feast and it was so sad and beautiful it even made the brave Lady weep. He the Prince presented the Lady with a crown of winter roses, Howland Reed was right behind her as history took its course. Arya wishes to tell him that there is no need to continue; everyone in Westeros knows what happened next, but a look at his haunted eyes tells her that for some reason he needs to tell her everything. He recounts that father and him became such trusted friends that he was chosen to accompany him to save his sister from the Tower of Joy. He pauses for a long time when he gets to that part of the story and the look on his face shows that he is far away from this room. He snaps out of his trance and looks her straight in the eyes before continuing his tale.

“When Ned entered the Tower he found Lady Lyanna in a bed of her own blood, she was still such a young girl and childbirth took a toll on her. You see child, Rhaegar had left her with child before he died in the Trident and Ned knew that neither Robert Baratheon nor Tywin Lannister would ever let the babe live. Rhaegar had wished her to be named Visenya but with the war lost it was a dangerous thing to be a Targaryen. The girl was the very image of her mother since birth and she deserved to bear a Northern name, so Ned named her after his grandmother. That child is you and you are the trueborn daughter of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Ned sent you to me to keep you safe like I kept safe proof of their union and the validity of your claim. These are dangerous times in Westeros child and if you stay here I fear for you. Your uncle Viserys and aunt Daenerys are in Essos and I have arranged passage for you, Jyana and some of my most trusted men to join them. You need to be with kin if what Jojen has seen is true.”

…………………………

In the many moons it takes them to reach Essos, Viserys has died and Daenerys is rumored to have hatched dragons. The Khaleesi seems to constantly be on the move and by the time Arya reaches her she has liberated the slaves of Astapor and Yunkai and has settled on Meereen. Along her journey Arya has picked up High Valyrian which makes her wonder if it is on account of her own Valyrian blood.

Getting a private audience with the Queen of Meereen is surprisingly easier that she expected. She takes one look at the silver queen and instantly understands why people rave about her beauty. Before she has a chance to speak an audible gasp is heard and the old knight by the queen’s side whispers her mother’s name. _That’s her cue then_. She tells the Targaryen queen everything and even procures Rhaegar’s harp and proof of his marriage to Lady Lyanna. The old knight speaks up then.

“ Your Grace, if I may, I believe the girl speaks the truth. Even without having his harp, it explains why Prince Rhaegar had the Kingsguard protecting Lady Lyanna instead of joining him in the battlefield and Eddard Stark is a good and honorable man who would do anything to protect his kin.”

Daenerys looks at her with interest before she speaks softly. “There is an easy way to test if her claim is true, Ser Barristan. The dragons don’t lie. Follow me girl.”  
The sight of the three dragons makes her heart sing. She knows she should be feeling afraid but she is too excited to worry about becoming dragon food. Daenerys calls for her children and when the green dragon wraps himself around Arya the queen gives her a blinding smile.

……………………..

Her relationship with Dany is being built slowly but steadily with strong foundations of familial love. Her aunt confides in her about her childhood on the run with her abusive brother, how he sold her to the Dothraki in exchange for an army, her relationship with the fearsome Khal, the death of her son and the birth of her dragons. Arya is amazed when Daenerys explains how she conquered Astapor and together they try to make sense of her visions in the House of the Undying. She in turn, tells her about Winterfell, of the father who is an uncle in reality and the brother turned cousin who showed her she was loved every day of his life. She recalls Lady Catelyn’s unmasked distaste and Sansa’s indifference. When she recalls her childhood nickname of “Arya Horseface” Dany seems impossibly shocked. When the most beautiful woman she has ever seen calls _her_ beautiful part of her wants to laugh and part of her wants to hug her in gratitude for her kindness.

Sometimes they even end up talking about men like silly maids. Dany mentions Daario and when Arya asks what she sees in him, the queen surprises her in her answer that his lack of carefully chosen words is very much appreciated. Biting her lip, Arya bashfully admits that the only man she truly thinks of is Jon. There is something knowing in Dany’s gaze but Arya chooses to ignore it. They are almost as close as sisters now and she understands what the look means. She’s not ready to face it yet.

During the day they are always busy. Daenerys has a city to rule and since she named her niece as her heir, Arya sits by her side during all political discussions. The Sons of the Harpy is their most pressing matter and they both share a deep distaste for the Green Grace; her proposal of marriage to Hizdahr zo Loraq is too suspicious. They will need to find a way to weed out the leaders of the rebels. When audiences and councils are not held, Daenerys helps her in her training to fully control Rhaegal while Arya tells her everything she knows about the Houses of Westeros, Great and small alike. Dany must know where to seek allies and who to be careful of. The discussions of Aerys’ reign prove to be more difficult in part of what Viserys has told her and in part because no child can easily accept that their father was not a good person.

……………………

Tidings of Daenerys’ victories have brought the Westerosi to their doorstep. The first to arrive is Qyentin Martell, a green boy with aspirations to marry the Dragon Queen. Dany is kind enough to let him down gently and as Arya looks away she catches the same mirth she feels reflected in her guard’s eyes. A raven arrives from the Wall from the Night’s Watch maester. When she realizes she had more kin she never knew about, her heart beats painfully in her chest. Aemon Targaryen warns them of the threat of the Others and they both vow to help only because he asked. 

She is sparring with her guard when she is summoned to Dany’s chambers. The queen clenches a letter in her fist and is muttering about a mummer’s dragon. She explains that a boy claiming to be Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar and Elia, has landed in Westeros and is campaigning for the Iron Throne. Now that she has refused Qyentin and Dorne has a Prince to rally to, they are sure to lose their alliance with House Martell. With the Sons of the Harpy still lurking, they cannot leave Meereen until peace is certain, which will give the false prince plenty of time to gather more forces. 

“What if I can infiltrate the Sons of the Harpy so you can defeat them once and for all your Grace?” the guard speaks up and all look at him shocked by his bold claim.

“How do you propose to do that when every time I have tried I have failed?”

“With all due respect your Grace, the same way I found my way in your pyramid” he says and rips away his face.

Everything after that is a flurry of movement; Missandei screams that he is a Faceless Man, Grey Worm and the Unsullied take up fighting stances and Arya is still rooted in place in shock. It is only when she realizes that they mean to harm her that she returns to her senses and throws herself in his arms.

Once everyone has calmed, Jon Stark tells them his story. He sailed to Braavos when Arya left Winterfell and when the War of the Five Kings started he went into hiding, trying to find a safe way to return to Westeros and help his family. When news of Robb and Catelyn’s murders reached him he offered himself to the House of Black and White so he could learn their ways and help avenge them. He excelled in his training yet the one thing he could never do was shed his identity. He dreamt of Ghost and a grey-eyed girl every night. He was on a mission in the Braavosi docks when he heard a sailor talk of the Dragon Queen and her grey-eyed heir. He earned his freedom from the Faceless Men and set to find them hoping that Arya was the girl they were talking about. Using the skills he learnt, he took the place of a guard assigned to Arya in order to watch over her.

It proved that for a man with Jon’s skills infiltrating the Sons of the Harpy was an easy feat. By a moon’s turn they have the names of everyone affiliated with them and they are swiftly brought to justice. A few days later Victarion Greyjoy lands with a fleet of ships and a dragon’s horn. He is killed before he has a chance to blow it and his ships are seized. They establish a council of rulers for Meereen and are finally ready to sail home. The pretender chose the Stormlands for the starting point of his invasion but they are Targaryens and plan to reclaim their ancestral home first. 

…………….

During the journey to Dragonstone both their resolves break, one moment he is teaching her a new fighting technique and the next they are kissing hungrily. She should be feeling guilty for a lot of things, they were raised as brother and sister, she is older than him but as he sheds her clothes she finds herself assisting him. This was always bound to happen. 

“Ever since Lord Stark started sharing your chambers you have been in a very good mood Arya”

“Just say what you mean to say Dany” Arya sighs

“I’m just pleased to see you happy, sweetling, that is all”

“You don’t think it’s wrong?”

“He crossed Essos for you. He could have returned to Westeros but he chose you above everyone else. He loves you and you love him. There is nothing wrong with that.”

……………………………….

They are wed right after they secure Dragonstone. She is clad in Targaryen red and black and Dany presents her with a cloak adorning both her parents’ houses. Missandei informs her that she had been making it since Jon revealed his true identity in Meereen. If she wasn’t ready to cry she would have glared daggers at the girl. 

They allow themselves a wedding feast. They travelled long and far and deserve that little reprieve. Tomorrow the ravens will fly and they will declare their intentions to Westeros. Valar dohaeris.


End file.
